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Showing posts from September, 2009

Jay-Z & Raekwon... My Thoughts

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In the early to mid 90’s Hip Hop fans would have been ecstatic to be treated to new Jay-Z and Raekwon albums in the same month, let alone the same week. Today it generated a moderate amount of media attention and a whole lot of internet attention. Bloggers love the superstars and the legends. While Jay-Z may be a bit of both he showed the superstar side of himself a bit more than the legendary skills he took the thrown with. Raekwon on the other hand has never been one for big numbers or mainstream appeal. He has however always repped for the Wu Tang and maintained a loyal following – all of whom should be saluting the man right about now for delivering a suburb follow up album to an album that it could easily be said should have been left alone. What makes Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 succeed is exactly where Blueprint 3 fails. While Raekwon didn’t go back to RZA entirely, he has the abbot doing what he does best – fitting the appropriate pieces where they should be. Getting Dilla

Sapient "Make Morphine: The Remixes"

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For a crew with the rep Sandpeople have amassed over the years on their grind it seems crazy to think they are giving music away for free. Shouldn’t they be on some major indy by now? Truth is told in this day and age you can probably do just as good on your own – if you are willing to put in the work. Apparently they have been going so hard that they have too much music and decided to give away three albums for free over the next three months. The first was given away on the first of this month (as the next two will be in the following two months) and is Sapient’s Make Morphine . Filled with a different producer for each track tackling an original from Sapient’s self produced Make More , it is a somewhat scattershot collection with a to be expected wide variety of styles. Some work well with Sapient’s own steez and some leave you craving the original. While not completely in a new order, some songs are in new places but “Here” is still the opener and I would say DJ FlipFlop did his t

Saturday Spin: Dave Matthews Band "Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King"

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In honor of the Dave Matthews Band long standing tradition to play at the Gorge this weekend, and given the fact that I was supposed to be there but work got in the way, I thought it only right to feature their latest album in this weeks installment of Saturday Spin . While it seems like being a fan of the DMB crew went out of fashion with the 90s they have always delivered pop rock for their loyal following and made a name off stellar live shows as anyone who has seen them at the Gorge, or anywhere else, can attest. At this point in time they don’t have anything left to prove and deliver an impressive album filled with the sounds you know and love. While the band has always played an integral roll in the live dynamic of the band, here on Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King it seems like they have upped their involvement in studio recordings as well. Featuring a fuller sound, that is composed of multiple tracks of guitars, drums, horns and other more subtle elements this album will h

Q & A With P Smoov

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Last month my roommate, our friend Ryan and I made the decision to cruise into Seattle for an evening of debauchery courtesy of a pair of shows. We only made it to one them – I guess that tells you how quickly the antics began. The show we did catch was Fresh Espresso (You might remember a little review I ran a few weeks back?) and they killed it like they seem to be doing with ease these days. After the set I got a chance to chop it up with one half of Fresh, P Smoov, via a ride home. Here is our ensuing conversation. TML: Have you played at the Crocodile before? P Smoov: Last week at this exact time. Well not this exact time but last week Mad Rad played with Head Like A Kite and Dyme Def and it was a ton of fun. It's actually my favorite Seattle club right now. TML: Are you happy with the response to the album? P SMOOV: I'm very, very happy. It's a good thing and I hope that the tunes live up to the expectations, live up to the praise. I really hope, just keep on burnin